Temu, the global e-commerce platform known for affordable products, was the most downloaded shopping app worldwide in 2024, as consumers sought options to address inflation, high interest rates, and economic uncertainty.
The platform’s success also reflects a growing consumer preference for one-stop shopping experiences offering a wide range of products across sectors at competitive prices, according to Sensor Tower’s State of Mobile 2025 report.
“Consumers increasingly look for platforms where they can shop across sectors,” said the report, which analyzed iOS App Store and Google Play data from January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2024. Temu’s “supply chain advantage allows it to offer free shipping and bargain pricing, resonating globally as consumers grapple with inflation, rising interest rates, and an uncertain geopolitical environment.”
According to the report, Temu ranked as the fourth-fastest app launched in the past three years to reach 50 million monthly active users (MAUs) globally, achieving the milestone within eight months of its September 2022 debut.
Temu’s pricing strategy is underpinned by a direct-from-factory model, connecting shoppers directly with manufacturers. By cutting out intermediaries, the platform maintains competitive pricing and operational efficiency. Since its U.S. launch in September 2022, Temu has expanded to 90 markets, including the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
According to SensorTower, Temu led retail app download charts in 15 major markets in 2024, including the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, the UAE, and the UK.
“My friends and family members who didn’t know what it was in 2023 do now,” Moira Weigel, an assistant professor at Harvard University who studies transnational online marketplaces, told Wired. Temu managed to pull it off because it met the needs of some neglected groups, such as price-conscious shoppers living in a time of high inflation, Weigel said.
A benchmarking study by UK-based Cebr found that UK households could save up to £3,000 ($3,700) a year by shopping on a direct-from-factory platform like Temu, as cost savings from eliminating middlemen and their markups are passed on to consumers.
Temu has also started recruiting local sellers and establishing local fulfillment services in 16 key markets, including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, and Japan, to expand product offerings and improve delivery times.
Local fulfillment enables Temu to offer bulkier merchandise, such as furniture, industrial equipment, and other high-value items that may not have been readily available online previously. Delivery speed is also expected to improve, with fulfillment times for some items reduced to as fast as the next business day.
Temu has reportedly estimated that as much as 80% of its European business could eventually come from its local-to-local model, enabling sellers to reach new customers across regions.
